Turkey to send another Freedom Flotilla to Gaza

The Turkish humanitarian relief organisation (IHH) is currently organising a "Freedom Flotilla II" which will carry humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip, IHH chairman Bulent Yildrim said Thursday.

In statements to Gulf Online, Yildrim said that his organisation has embarked on legal procedures and paperwork required to obtain a permit for the trip. As soon as a final permit is issued, the IHH along with other international organisations will immediately set up the convoy.

The chairman of IHH, a major organiser of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla I, said that Turkish army troops will accompany the ships to protect it from any potential attack, pointing out that his organisation demanded the government to provide protection for them as Turkish citizens.

Maze Keheil, the president of the European Campaign for Lifting the Siege on Gaza, confirmed his campaign's intention to take part in the new flotilla, as it did in first one in 2010.

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On 1 April 1979, Iran voted by national referendum to establish an Islamic Republic during the 1979 Iranian Revolution, paving the way for a new constitution & Ayatollah Khomeini's position as Supreme Leader.